Walking In
by lucy2point0
Summary: What was going through the receptionist's mind when she took Irina's walk-in request at the CIA?


Walking In  
  
By: lucy2point0, email: wendy@devil.com  
  
Rating: G  
  
Spoilers: The Enemy Walks In  
  
Disclaimer: This fantastic Alias world is SO not mine, but it does belong to JJ Abrams, ABC and everyone else who is involved with the show.  
  
Notes:  
- This little fic came to me as I watching my tape of The Enemy Walks In. And the idea came to me as soon as the camera showed the receptionist's reaction to Irina when she walked into the CIA building. And I thought, there has *got* to be a story behind that woman's reaction...so here it is... :)  
  
- The premise of this short fic is that the receptionist's who took Irina Derevko's walk-in is having a coffee break with a junior receptionist, sometime later in the day. And of course, they're gossiping... The conversation is strictly one-sided, as you'll soon see...  
  
- I never watched the pilot episode, only read episode transcripts of it so I don't know if the receptionist Sydney talked to is the same one that Irina also spoke to. Let's just assume for the purposes of this story it is...   
  
Feedback: Sure...  
  
Archive: Sure, drop me an e-mail and let me know so I can visit.  
  
In the 25 years or so that I've worked as one of several full-time receptionists in the lobby of the CIA's Los Angeles field office, I think I've seen just about everything.  
  
Earthquakes. Crazed gunmen. Bomb scares. Student protests. Hostage situations. Delusional conspiracy theorists. News crews looking for a scoop on the latest spy scandal. Attempted assassinations.   
  
Hm. Let me strike that last one from the list. You never heard me say that.  
  
But the one type of event that I still find most unusual and unpredictable to this day, is the walk-in.  
  
It was easier to understand why people walked in during the Cold War days. Back then, you knew who the players were on the scene. It was 'us' versus 'them'. Or that you either worked for us, or you worked for them... There were certain kinds of procedures we were trained to follow...protocols, if you will, when handling walk-ins.  
  
Nowadays, with multinational corporations with their fingers in just about every corporate pie, and new governments overseas forming and falling all the time, it's not so easy to tell who the good guys are from the bad anymore. Or if one of your own has turned, because protecting your country's interests just isn't enough motivation for you to get up every morning and go to work.  
  
Yes, I know who you're thinking now. But just for the record, I never liked Steven Haladki from the moment I first laid eyes on him. His recent disappearance and persistent rumors that he was a mole has got to be one of the worst kept secrets around the building. If I've even heard about that then it has got to be old news...  
  
But, enough about him. I know you want to know about the other more memorable walk-ins I've had in my time here. And in the time I've been here, only two have truly stood out in my mind. One almost 2 years ago and the one we had here today. And if the initial scuttlebutt around the building is what I think it is, the two are related in more ways than one.  
  
So there I was 2 years ago, answering phones and trying to get one of the security guards to get me some more sweetener for my coffee, when in walks this young woman in black. Nothing unusual there, except the only reason she immediately caught my eye was the shocking blood-red, Raggedy-Ann colored hair she had. And her face. The first thing I thought was, she's been through the wringer, and then some. And the second thing I thought was that she looked about as young as my eldest daughter but her eyes, her eyes made her seem like she'd seen too much of the world already. The bad parts of it anyways.  
  
She comes straight to me, like she knew where she was going all along, and just as you please, asks for Director Devlin. I give her the standard line, he's not available and would she like to leave a message? And then she drops the bomb. She tells me that he's got himself a walk-in.  
  
I pick up the phone and call Security and tell them that the Director has a walk-in. They ask me if I am completely sure, and I tell them yes. They told me to escort her into the secure area, which I did. Standard procedures, followed to the letter...  
  
No, I've haven't spoken to her since then, though she comes in once in a while sporting civilian clothes and brunette hair. What I have heard about her is that she's one of the CIA's top double agents now and that is all I want, all I need to know. Ignorance is bliss, if you ask me.  
  
So what about the other walk-in, this morning? Let me start off by telling you that this morning started off like any morning. Directing calls, taking deliveries, issuing visitor's passes. All before 9:30 am, and boy was I ready for a cup of coffee.  
  
But before I could do anything else, this woman appears in front of me, out of thin air almost. Tall, cool, elegant. Compelling, and...lethal, if that makes any sense. Like she could smile at you even as she'd torture you to within an inch of your life for information.  
  
What did she say? She said her name was Irina Derevko and that she came to the CIA building for the purposes of surrendering herself to the United States government. And that she would like to speak with Director Devlin, immediately.  
  
Well, I must say that left me speechless. You don't get declarations like that every day. My jaw must have hit the floor, to her amusement, but I called Security like I was supposed to. But this time I wasn't asked to escort her into the secured area like I usually do with the other walk-ins. Within, maybe...15 seconds after I hung up, 4 suits in earpieces materialized out of nowhere and discreetly hustled her into the security area.  
  
So, what that's got to do with the previous walk-in? The thing is, this Derevko woman, and the girl with the red hair could have passed for mother and daughter--sisters if you really wanted to be flattering. But the similarities ends there, according to rumor.  
  
While the daughter—let's say she is the daughter, is one of the good guys, the mother, the Derevko woman, according to gossip, allegedly murdered around 12 CIA officers 30-35 years ago.  
  
I know! I know, and she stood within 2 feet of me! It's crazy...but why would she give herself up? I don't know...a woman in the business for that long, coming in, she has to be getting something out of it. I wonder if her daughter, if it is her daughter, is the reason why she came in.  
  
What? I don't know for sure if that's the real reason. If I knew...I'd be working upstairs as an analyst and not down here, that's for sure...  
  
Will you look at the time... I think it's time we both got back to work. I've gotta finish off my shift, and you've to go start yours.   
  
Oh, and thanks for reminding me, about taking extra packets of sugar back with me for tomorrow's coffee...all those damned security guards have the memory retention and personality of an amoeba. I could never get them to sneak me extra packs during the day. What's that? Oh, that's funny, heh...maybe you're right. It could be an actual job requirement...  
  
(the end) 


End file.
